16-year-old Elise is unhappy, unpopular, and unsatisfied. A year ago, all of these feelings came together in an ugly way and she attempted suicide. Her home is not her happy place, so she gets out often at night – leading her to discover a world she had no idea existed. She quickly falls in love with the warehouse parties – and in lust with a hot older DJ – but even more she falls in love with DJing. She is excellent at it and through it she feels an escape from the pain. This is a true-to-life story of triumph – despite, or because of, Elise’s stumbles along the way. Bonus: the publishers made a playlist for the book so you can be completely immersed.

Like your musical tales a little more magical? Our unnamed narrator and her best friend Aurora grew up like sisters in the atmospheric Pacific Northwest. Their mothers were both wild, and their fathers are both long gone, so mostly they have had each other – similar and yet different like mirror images. When a mysterious and magical musician arrives along with a charmingly conniving boss, the differences between the two girls cause their bond to rupture. Infused with art and music, this is a darkly romantic punk-rock tale for fans of Francesca Lia Block – and it’s the first book in a planned trilogy.

What if you accidentally fell backwards through time and found yourself at Woodstock? Yes, THE Woodstock. With Jimi Hendrix in all his glory rocking the Star-Spangled Banner. When he finds a white Stratocaster played by Hendrix, Rich wonders what on earth his uptight dad is doing with it. Even weirder, when he plays the right chord, he’s transported back to 1969. There, he runs into his dad and uncle as teens – the thing is Rich’s uncle OD’d at Woodstock, and his death is what left Rich’s dad the angry, sad man ruining Rich’s life. So Rich does the only thing that makes sense in this love-filled hippy fest: sets out to save his uncle – and thereby his dad and himself. Sound like a wacky premise? It may be but it is ultimately a realistic, funny and fun read.

If you loved The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, you will love this book. It’s the 1970s. Lewis is the only kid from the Tuscarora Reservation in the smart-kid track at the county middle school. So you could say he’s a misfit. Used to being bullied and without many friends at his mostly white school, Lewis is surprised when he finds himself becoming friends with the new kid. Misfit meet misfit: they bond over their shared love of rock and roll – The Beatles and other greats – and both slowly begin to trust and understand one another. But when the school’s biggest bully decides Lewis is his next target, their friendship is tested. Given the barriers of class, race, and bullies – can their friendship survive?

There are so many books published for adults that have what is called “crossover appeal,” meaning they are recommended for teens, too. It’s hard to find those books, of course, because they are shelved in the adult fiction area and we don’t exactly put shining beacons on them all to let you teens know they’re there! So this week I thought I’d showcase some new-ish books for adults – that also happen to pair well with new-ish YA titles for extra added appeal and ease of entry into the world of books for adults.

Books about growing up

…featuring horses. You’re probably saying, “But I stopped reading horse books when I was 11!” Give these two a shot, though, if you still (secretly) like stories involving animals in some way, but also really love great realistic fiction about growing up in an imperfect world.

In the South during the Great Depression, an elite equestrian boarding school gets a new student: sheltered Thea Atwell is banished from her wealthy family in Florida after her naivete gets her into trouble. Her home-schooled, insular life did not prepare her for what she finds at the Yonahlossee Riding Camp. The Southern belle and debutante students have their own particular social hierarchy into which Thea has trouble understanding at first, but her riding skills allow her to slowly make her way in this new world, coming to terms with who she is and what she needs to learn to grow stronger.

Sidney grew up tough, so when she needs to escape her over-protective mother and her mother’s string of abusive boyfriends, she finds a job cleaning stables for a rich woman and drives herself there even though she’s only 14. She loves to ride, so working amongst the horses and riders is thrilling for Sid. The mill town she lives in feels like a dead-end, and probably will be for most of Sid’s classmates and her beloved uncle. But Sid wants so much more from life, and her opportunity to see how the other side lives leads to more opportunities to pursue her dream of riding.

Historical Fiction

If you’ve seen any of the award-winning TV show The Borgias, you know that this is some fascinating history. When their father rose to power as the pope, the Borgia children had to learn the ropes of the family business: getting even more power for their family and themselves. Cesare is the cold, manipulative one who thinks nothing of killing those who stand in his way – including his sister’s husbands. Lucrezia’s job is to be beautiful and attract those husbands, until she realizes she is a pawn in a game over which she could have some control, too.

Love the thrilling real story of the dramatic Borgia family? Methinks the bard did, too. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet takes on Italian family drama, and this novel takes that drama to another level. Still Star-Crossed picks up where Romeo and Juliet leaves off – with the title characters dead. Even though they have died through their love, the Capulets and Montagues are still feuding. A plan to make peace involves another Capulet-Montague match-up, but will it end well this time?

If you’re a fan of fast-paced thrillers like Michael Crichton or Michael Grant, or literary horror/zombie stories like those of Daniel Kraus and Patrick Ness, then you will love Red Moon. In the world of this book, werewolves are real – they are people disturbingly transformed by a disease – and they are rising up against the rest of humanity. They live in what could be called peace, but an extremist group of lycans is planning deadly attacks on the U.S. (there are major parallels to the 9/11 terrorist attacks), determined to spark a war to end all wars.

While not as tensely paced as the book to which this is the sequel, House of the Scorpion (2002), this is another riveting and imaginative look at what our world could be in the future. El Patron is dead, and Matteo must step into his position of power. I paired this with Red Moon because both focus intensely on real-world issues but frame them in an alternate reality.

Earlier this summer I highlighted the blockbuster fall that is upon us: so many big-time movies-from-books and so many big-time books are coming out this fall, it’s really hard to keep track. This week, I’m too excited to stay quiet about some of the upcoming sequels, finales, and stand-alone books that will be hitting the shelves in September and early October.

To make things even more fun: you can already request these books even though they either have yet to be published or have yet to be cataloged by any Milwaukee County libraries. Get your name on the list for these books ASAP if you’re anywhere near as excited as I am!

If you’re a fan of Block from her great magical-realism YA books like the Weetzie Bat series, The Frenzy, Wasteland and others, you will not be disappointed in her newest book. Tackling the post-apocalyptic genre that has swept through YA lit recently, Block puts her own spin on death and destruction. An apocalyptic earthquake and tidal wave that seems to sweep most of the USA off the map leaves Penelope alone in her pink house, without the family and friends she dearly loved. There is something sinister behind the destructive quake, though, something that it seems Penelope – who quickly renames herself Pen – must track down. She meets friends and finds love, and quickly realizes her journey parallels that of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. The magic and mythology of that story are beautifully intertwined with science and technology of the 21st century in a way only Block could pull off.

This is a novelization of a short story originally published in Black’s The Poison Eaters. Everyone knows that escape from Coldtown, effectively a prison for vampires and other demons, is impossible. So when Tana, with the help of a red-eyed stranger named Gavriel, realizes that entering (and then escaping) Coldown is probably the only way to save her town from a plague of vampire attacks, she must steel herself to the task. Tana is a typically brave and bold Black heroine and her thrilling foray into the freaky Coldtown is not to be missed.

The second book in Stiefvater’s utterly perfect series about magic, mythology, psychics and private school. If you have not read the first one (The Raven Boys), go get it right this second. That is, if you love great stories about teens doing cool things with magic and ley lines and awakening ancient dead Welsh kings. In The Dream Thieves, the boys Adam, Gansey and Ronan are still working with energy-amplifying spikey-haired Blue Sargent, but this time their efforts are diverted somewhat from the search for Glendower. Secretive Ronan may not be able to keep his secrets much longer (the last line from The Raven Boys certainly hints at that development!). Blue may not be able to stop herself from kissing someone thereby fulfilling the awful prophecy that has plagued her life so far. Unlike some “bridge” books – the second in a trilogy – this promises to be an astonishing story that truly furthers the action and the characters’ development.

October releases include such eagerly anticipated books as Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa and a little thing called ALLEGIANT BY VERONICA ROTH (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Get reading!

If that seems like an intriguing and magical title, it’s because all three new books I want to share are just that: intriguing and magical. There’s lots of fantasy written for young adults, but lately it seems there has been more magical realism or supernatural realism than before. These books are somewhat fantastical – in that there are sometimes other worlds, creatures other than humans, with magic and mythology abounding – but they take place in world that we recognize as our own. Think of books by Maggie Stiefvater or Margo Lanagan that re-tell and re-imagine mythological and fairy stories. If you like those writers, you will definitely like these three new books.

When Noah and his sister Lo make their way to the island where their grandmother lives for the summer, they don’t plan for mystery or adventure. Noah is headed to an important internship with a noted marine biologist, and Lo is just along for the change of scenery which she hopes will inspire her art and help her heal from an eating disorder. Soon, however, both notice strange things are afoot on the isolated island. Noah meets Mara when he tries to rescue her from drowning. She is unlike any girl Noah or Lo has known, but something holds her back from getting close to them. What is her secret? And will finding it out put Noah and Lo in harm’s way?

Another novel with a mystery from the sea at its heart – this time it’s mermaids, not selkies, although the two are closely related. Sam and his father and brother are still reeling from the sudden loss of their mother. She up and left months ago, and now that summer has arrived Sam’s dad takes them all to a sleepy seaside town for a chance to recover. Sam and his brother see this as a real chance to let go, and soon find themselves in the midst of friends and parties and the fun of summer in a beach town. But they also notice that all the girls are blonde and bewitching – which wouldn’t be a problem except that they are all a little strange, too. Sam falls for DeeDee – although all the girls chase him – and soon comes to learn who these strange, ephemeral looking girls are. And that he may hold the secret to unlocking the curse they are under. Bonus: Sam’s voice is completely approachable by anyone. Don’t be put off by the kissing cover!

Canny Mochrie has always been able to see something Extra – bits of magic on the edges of things, a feeling that pervades. She has always felt different, not only because of the Extra but because she seems too distant from people, too brown compared to others on her Pacific island, Southland, and a little strange. When she accompanies her step-brother on a research trip to the Zarene Valley – site of a coal mining disaster that her brother is researching – she instantly knows there is some connection between herself and the Zarenes. The Valley abounds with magic, she can see the Extra everywhere. She is drawn to Ghislain Zarene, one of the children of the Valley who can perform magic, but is trapped there by the magic, too. Canny finds connection in the Valley – although she is torn between it and her island home – for reasons she will come to understand run deep within her.

Creepy books! They are not for everyone, that’s for sure. But if you like your fantasy or re-told, re-imagined fairy tales with a little bit of a creep factor – think Libba Bray, Melissa Marr, Kenneth Oppel, etc. – then check these new books out!

This is a new and creeptastic take on the story of Snow White. Camille is an orphan, found abandoned in the snow, who has been raised in the lap of luxury as the ward of the godfather of the Seven. The Seven are the powerful families that rule their magic-infused world of New Haven. Only Camille is not magical – she is mortal, with a past that remains a mystery until she meets Tor. Part fairy tale, part paranormal steampunk.

This is the third book in the Bones of Faerie trilogy, and of course promises much of the same fantastical faerie magic as you saw in the first two books. It’s part postapocalytpic mayhem and all dark fantasy. Liza’s world in Faerie is suddenly disintegrating, seemingly struck by a sickness that is causing living creatures to turn to dust. Liza realizes the fate of her world is linked to that of the human world, and she must risk bridging the two to save both.

Mackenzie is a Keeper with the heavy job of ensuring Histories – like ghosts, only more…complex – return to the Archive where Librarians store their knowledge and stories. As Keeper, Mackenzie must ensure that wayward Histories don’t escape into the real world to cause havoc. Soon after her family relocates to a creepy new home in an old hotel, Mac meets a fellow Keeper and their previously quiet world begins to fall apart. Histories are on a rampage – and they may be getting help from inside the Archive. Not to be read in the dark if you’re easily scared!

This week we’ve got three brand new books (just going on the shelves TODAY!) that all feature stories that are based on other stories. Remixing stories is kind of a popular thing for authors to do right now – for example Marissa Meyer’s Cinder which retells Cinderella as a sci fi dystopian tale. Some very cool things happen when authors pick up a favorite fairy tale or classic story and re-imagine it in their own way.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is no mention of Dr. Frankenstein having a family at all. I seem to remember there being a sister, perhaps, but no daughters.Like Kenneth Oppel in This Dark Endeavor, Weyn adds to the story of Dr. Frankenstein by giving him two unacknowledged twin daughters. After Frankenstein dies, the two girls make their way to his creepy castle to claim it as their inheritance. Told in a Gothic style similar to the original novel, this story unravels in a twisty turn-y tale of romance, mystery, and horror as the two very different twins become captivated by their father’s castle and their father’s madness. If you like Oppel’s Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series and the original horror story itself, you’ll want to read this one.

This is a retelling of the less-known Brothers Grimm tale of Bluebeard, a fierce but rich man who woos and brings home a young girl to be his next wife, but the young girl quickly discovers Bluebeard has deep, dark, murderous secrets hiding in his castle. In Nickerson’s retelling, Sophia Petheram is orphaned at 17, but unexpectedly invited to be taken in by her mysterious godfather. She accepts his invitation, having no other options, and lands at the lavish Wyndriven Abbey set deep in Mississippi. Things there seem pleasant, until Sophia begins to unravel the mysteries and see past the elaborate facades to the horrific secrets lurking at Wyndriven Abbey.

With its creepy title, this book sounds like a horror story. It’s really a little fantasy, a little paranormal, a little mythology, a little dystopia, and, yes, a little horror. There’s not just one story here, but there is one story. It’s made up of seven different vignettes – seven interwoven tales set on the same creepy Scandinavian island called Blessed. There are funny things afoot on Blessed, and it appears there have been since the beginning of time. Each piece of the puzzle takes place in a different era, starting in 2073, going back through the 10th century, and ending in time unknown. Fantasy, mythology, and paranormal fiction lovers should pick this up.

Rory Miller’s life changes forever when she is nearly the victim of a serial killer. She escapes, but she knows who he is and what he almost did to her. She and her family enter Witness Protection, which means starting over in a new place, with a brand new life. Until one of Rory’s new friends goes missing. Has the killer she ran from found her? As teens continue to go missing in Rory’s new home of Juniper Landing, other seem unconcerned, but Rory is determined to track down the truth. If you like a little mystery with your stories, and a little supernatural with your mysteries, check this one out.

And now for some romance! This is positively Downton Abbey from the perspective of two teens, one a rich young woman, and the other, her ladies’ maid. Lady Ada Averley has just returned from India to her family home at Somerton. A new ladies’ maid is found for her, Rose Cliffe, who is the same age as Ada. The two become close, despite their very different upbringings. Ada finds herself inexplicably involved in a less-than-expected romance with Ravi, an intelligent young Indian man in England to attend Oxford. Forbidden romance, upstairs-downstairs relationships a la Downton, and riveting writing make this a keeper.

Every time we order new books here, there is a process that they have to go through before they can go on the shelves for you to check out. Sometimes that process takes longer than other times, but usually we are pretty fast. This week I thought it would be fun to highlight three brand new books that aren’t even on the shelves yet so you can plan in advance for the moment they will be available!

That means that there are not links to the catalog for each title, but I have still included the cover image when possible so you’ll know what you’re looking for, and the sneak peek…

The Wrap-Up List by Steven Arntson

Everyone gets assigned their own personal Death, with a capital D, who helps them depart. Gabriela’s Death sends her a letter one day informing her she has but seven days left before he comes to escort her to the afterlife. That sucks. But what’s worse is that it looks like Gabriela will die before ever having kissed someone. A few of her friends have yet to experience kissing, too, so before she dies, Gabriela makes it her mission to set their romantic lives in order. As the week winds down, Gabriela learns that if she can determine her Death’s weakness, she might just be able to stay alive to enjoy her new-found confidence.

Alyssa Gardner knows that madness runs in her family. Her great-great-grandmother, Alice Liddell, told her mad dreams to the author Lewis Carroll who was inspired by them to write Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa’s ability to hear plants and animals leads her to wonder if there is some truth to Alice’s story. She comes to realize that in order to break the curse of insanity, she must descend into Wonderland and right the wrongs her great-great-grandmother perpetrated there years ago.

This is the first book in a series called Finishing School. Sophronia in uninterested in girlish pursuits, much to the annoyance of her mother who is desperate for Sophronia to become a proper lady. She enrolls her in a prestigious finishing school, Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. When Sophronia begins there she is skeptical, but she soon learns that the school is somewhat different than your typical finishing school. Girls there are taught, among the normal things like singing and sewing, the tricks of the trades of espionage. Carriger also writes the steampunk Parasol Protectorate series (adult fiction).

The list of 15 nominees for the 2013 Milwaukee County Teen Book Award is here! Nominees include some books that have been popular here in Shorewood, such as The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Be sure to vote for your favorite before March 1, 2013. Remember, you don’t have to read all of them to be able to vote. If you read one and you liked it, why not make it your choice for the award!

Alex is hiking in the woods when an electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device and killing billions. Alex must survive in this new world, learning who can be trusted and who is no longer human. For all of you post-apocalyptic fans!

Diagnosed with stage IV thyroid cancer, Hazel has always known her fate. But when she meets Augustus Waters at a cancer support group, Hazel struggles to change her outlook on life and love. This is a laugh-out-loud funny read, true to John Green’s style, yet also a deeply sad book.

The day that Rory Deveaux arrives in London is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city. Rory is the only one who saw the prime suspect – and now Rory has become his next target. This play on the Jack the Ripper story is as thrilling as it is magical.

17-year-old Althea must marry well in order to support her family and maintain their ancient castle. When the perfect bachelor arrives in her tiny town she thinks they may finally be saved, except that his annoying business partner keeps getting in the way!

Tired of his parents’ fighting and being bullied at school, Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but a summer in Arizona with his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective.

In the 15th-century kingdom of Brittany, Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts – and a violent destiny.

Day is the most wanted criminal in the Republic. June is its most valuable asset. When Day is accused of killing June’s brother, she will stop at nothing to hunt him down – but what if everything she thought she knew was a lie? Bonus: the sequel, Prodigy, is coming soon!

Finley’s life is basketball, so when he’s asked to befriend a nationally ranked player at the same position, he’s unsure of what to do. Events from both boys past start to surface and shape their uncertain futures.

Peter’s life as a baseball star is over, and now he needs to find something else to do. Of course, he can’t tell his best friend he’ll never play again, just like he can’t tell his parents about his grandfather’s forgetfulness.

EPIC ALERT! Puck Connolly is the first girl to ever attempt the race. Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. But can they control the deadly water horses long enough to survive? Check out Stiefvater’s other 2012 release, The Raven Boys: Book 1.

Karou was raised by monsters. Her life as an art student in Prague is constantly disrupted by horned chimaera Brimstone’s mysterious errands to foreign cities. But when black handprints appear burnt into Brimstone’s doorways, coinciding with mysterious sightings of fiery angels, Karou is about to lose everything – and gain a whole new world. The sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, is now out!

A wireless operator during WWII, Verity is a spy and master of deception – and a Nazi prisoner. In exchange for Allied wireless codes, she is allowed to live one day for each new piece of the truth. But as Verity’s story, and the story of her friendship with pilot Maddie, is slowly revealed, the truth is not always what it seems.

In and out of hospitals for a life-threatening illness, sixteen-year-old Cam spends the summer with her family in Promise, Maine where her mother hopes the town’s mystical healing qualities will save her.

Jill’s mother is adopting a child from a pregnant teen after the death of her father. Mandy is 19 and running away from the life she knows to give her unborn child a better life than she had. Both girls will need to face their pasts to find the family they need now.

When Rory moves to London from Louisiana to attend school she knows things will be different. At first trying to keep up with classes and learn British slang takes all her time. But when copycat Jack the Ripper murders happen in her neighborhood and at the school, Rory gets pulled into the investigation. “Rippermania” takes over London and Rory finds herself at the center of a the mysterious killings.

A great murder mystery with a supernatural twist, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, is an exciting read filled with interesting characters, and fantastic setting, and a truly original plot.